Parking meter charges in Birmingham city centre are set to be cut by up to a quarter in a bid to boost business and fill empty bays.

Council chiefs have noticed more and more empty parking bays during the day and are set to reduce the two-hour rate from £5.20 to £4.20 for the next year.

The half-hour rate will only be cut by 10p to £1.20.

But a range of other charges for council car parking, including season ticket and pay and display will rise by an average of 3.7 per cent from November 8, broadly in line with inflation.

In a report to Birmingham City Council’s cabinet, David Haycock said: “The current proposals are generally in line with inflation. “It is therefore not expected that they will cause resistance to parking in council car parks.”

The majority of shorter-stay charges, for two hours or less, have been frozen in a bid to encourage shoppers.

Mr Haycock said the council had to look past simple economics in a bid to boost trade in the city centre.

His report said: “A commercial operator would look to maximise income by increasing short-stay charges, since the effects of turnover mean that these tend to generate most income.

“But, in the city council’s case, this would be contrary to the policy of encouraging short-stay business, shopper and visitor parking.”

The council said it had found, since the prices were last changed in March last year, that the higher rate city centre on-street parking spaces, such as those around Colmore Row, were under-used.

The charges were expected to be rubber-stamped by members of the authority’s cabinet today.